Finance committee  I thought it was a good question that you asked. I was thinking about the budget change during Mr. Hayes' remarks, and I would agree with Mr. Hayes that it's probably a bit too early to assess the impact that change has had.

Finance committee  I'd say a similar thing: the larger companies have come to the markets in the last two years and have tended to accumulate fair amounts of cash. Part of it is because of uncertainty, but I also think part of it is looking for opportunity as well. Particularly when you're looking

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's a pleasure to be here this morning in Saskatoon. I represent the Investment Industry Association of Canada, which is the trade association for the Canadian securities industry. We represent 200 investment dealer firms coast to coast across the coun

Finance committee  The problem, as I see it, is that the current environment is probably exacerbating the difficulty of raising capital for small and mid-sized companies, although we've argued that there has been relative difficulty over the last few years. In this current climate, it has been very

Finance committee  Yes, it probably makes sense to stand back and take a look at the system as a whole. A particular area that might merit from further examination is the sales tax side, especially in the context of the harmonization of sales taxes that is taking place across the country. A lot of

Finance committee  My response would be that the current architecture of the pension funds probably provides enough flexibility and scope for small business to have pension funds without expanding the CPP. I agree with you, I think the CPP is well-managed; it's a well-run fund, it's fully funded—

Finance committee  That's understood.

Finance committee  I just wanted to say that group RRSPs, for example, which are a pretty effective plan for very small companies, whereby they use an administrator and offer group RRSPs, offer one vehicle that we think we could improve upon.

Finance committee  What we have in the securities industry right now is a national fund, the Canadian Investor Protection Fund, that protects investors in the event of defaults of member firms.

Finance committee  Well, it is limited, but it's comparable, certainly, to the CDIC. It's $1 million for each account within CIPF in those circumstances.

Finance committee  What we have in the industry, in addition to the protections in the event of bankruptcy.... Where you're going is consumer redress for victims. Again, there is a national program, the ombudsman for the banking and securities industries. In those circumstances, there is an opportu

Finance committee  No, but what I have said is that there are mechanisms for victims in our industry to seek redress, and as far as I can see from the evidence, it's working pretty satisfactorily. Now I know there has been some significant malfeasance in particular provinces. Those have happened ou

Finance committee  Well, that's fraud, and you're right, it has happened. But for any bona fide member of our industry, there are protections in--

Finance committee  I see where you're coming from. First, we have the CPP, which is a mandatory program. It was overhauled 10 years ago. It's very efficient. That's the core of our pension system. The other aspects of it are voluntary. But at the same time, there are real incentives through the

Finance committee  When I talk about my members, I'm talking about the investment dealers. They're large and small. Many of them are small, almost 200 of them. A rise in corporate taxes at a time when they are under the gun would hurt. Profitability, particularly for small firms, is very weak. As